Barcelona hotel-any suggestions

[treasure4two]

We are sailing out of Barcelona on July 26, 2010 and will be flying in a night early. Any suggestions for good hotels in Barcelona and any other hints on taxis, good places to see, etc? Thanks!:D

[QM2 Cruiser]

We are sailing out of Barcelona on July 26, 2010 and will be flying in a night early. Any suggestions for good hotels in Barcelona and any other hints on taxis, good places to see, etc? Thanks!:D

We have stayed in two hotels in Barcelona; Le Meridian Barcelona and Hotel Regencia Colon.

If a three star hotel will suit your needs, check out the Hotel Regencia Colon in the Gothic Quarter. It is a not a Hilton, but if you are looking to stay at a reasonable price, it is comfortable and in a great location. The hotel is very authentic and great for a one night pre/post cruise stay. http://www.hotelcolon.es/eng/hotel/ (Cost us $125 p/n)

If you prefer something more accommodating, you will love the Le Meridian Barcelona. This hotel is right on Las Ramblas and is to die for. http://www.starwoodhotels.com/lemeridien/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=1931 (Cost us around $250 p/n)

Barcelona is a wonderful city; you will want to stay a few days to explore. Taxis are rather expensive, but there is a stand at the airport. Just make sure the taxi driver uses the meter.

You can walk to Las Ramblas and the Gothic District from the Hotel Colon and Le Meridian is in the heart of everything. You can take a public bus to the Sagrada Familia from either hotel (DO NOT MISS THIS FOR ANYTHING). Guest Services at both hotels were very helpful and provided information about bus numbers, flamenco and local authentic restaurants. Both hotels have multilingual staff.

Enjoy the City of Counts!

[sweetpea143]

We are on this sailing as well and will be looking for info on hotels, public transport, activities and restaurants. Any recommendations are appreciated.

[English_in_Spain]

You will get more information if you go to the Europe/Spain port of call pages.

[sparkle56]

Grand Hotel Barcelona. Walking distance to all sorts of interesting things. Just a short walk to La Rambla and to the interesting architectural highlights of the city--Gaudi church, etc. The room was comfortable and boutique like in a modern sort of way. Beautiful rooftop pool with a great view. Very close to the port.

Note: English is rarely spoken in Barcelona so prepare to point at pictures of food to tell what you want and to have some difficulty communicating with hotel desk staff, etc.

[alcpa1]

I know you will find recommendations on the European boards but please be aware of several factors.
La Rambla is in the heart of the city to be sure, but it can also be very congested and VERY noisy. Check the football/soccer schedules and if Barcelona is playing a match at home find another location. Trust me on this one unless you want to party all night with the revelers.
We stayed at the Continental Palacete on La Rambla and should have done a better job of hotel searching. There are stairs and a one person elevator on the second landing. If you are into 1950's pink and plastic drawers, and don't mind the noise you will probably find other cruisers on your sailing wandering the halls looking for their rooms.
The cabbies outside the hotel fought NOT to take us to the pier since there were 6 of us and that was in the days of two or three suitcases each. We wish we had arranged for Angie to take us to the ship. In the long run it would have been less expensive after the bribes to the cabbies.
Make sure that you have an air conditioned hotel. Not every modestly hotel has a/c.
Utilize the hop on hop off busses while you are there. They provide a great intro to the city. There are three lines that will cover all of the major sights.
Take a look at Trip Advisor too.
The Med cruises are fantastic so make sure you start off on the right foot and book suitable accommodations in Barcelona.

[agathasmum]

We stayed at the Hotel 1898 on La Ramblas in July. It was an excellent hotel, very quiet considering the location, and it had a fabulous rooftop terrace and pool. They also served very nice tapas and cava up there!

[pris993]

If you are looking for something different, i.e., not in the heart of the Rambles, or old quarter, I agree the Rambles is too noisy and too crowded -- we have stayed at two different Hiltons in Barclona. One is in the financial district and the other is at the far eastern end of the city on the Mediterranean. We liked both of these hotels, not cheap though. There is even a Ritz Carlton, The ARTS which is even more expensive on the Mediterranean. We stayed there once when we got a good price. Very nice but very expensive generally.

For a less expensive and different alternative, we have also stayed at a Marriott at the airport. With the dollar/euro being what it is, sometimes a less expensive option is good.

We were in Barcelona last April. We found the Rambles way too crowded. We enjoy visiting the St. JOseph market on the Rambles but found it overrun with tourists. So we wandered off the beaten path into some of the back streets and found another market much like the St. Joseph market and lucky for us practically only local there.

Transportation wise, when we stayed at the airport hotel, we took the airporter bus into the city each day, very easy and reasonable costs.

When we stayed at the Hilton on the eastern end of the city (at the conference center) we found a street car service that one can ride across the city. There was also a large shopping center in the area.

Barcelona is a beautiful city.

[lilybob]

We just stayed at Hotel Jazz Pelayo 3, (Golden Triangle/ Eixample district) and really liked it. Very modern with rooftop pool and bar. They also spoke English and were very helpful with directions etc. I booked it through Expedia a couple of months prior to cruise and the rate was $128! It was more when I checked recently so book ahead. Location is very close to Placa Catalunya metro stop, easy walk to La Rambla and Sagrada Familia. There are many cafes and shops in the area. Several reviews on Trip Advisor also. If you are in Barcelona at night (Sunday and Thursday I think ) when the colorful Magic Fountains are on display with the music in front of the Catalan Museum of Art be sure to go. It's easy to reach by metro--Placa Espana stop. Have fun....Barcelona is great!

[G&G]

Barcelona is a beautiful city. After our Med cruise last summer we stayed near the airport at a Renaissance Hotel for three nights. The accommodations were excellent. We used both taxi's and the subway system to get around town. The subway system can take you to most of the main attractions. Ask the hotel conceige concerning how you can get price discounts on subway by purchasing multi-tickets. As far as restaurants, ask the hotel conceige or locals; we received great recommendations from both for lunch & dinner.

[artistann]

Stayed 2 nights in July at Sunhotel Central on Grand Via des la Corts near all Gaudi's creations. it was under $ 400 total including the most expansive breakfast I have ever seen. They are a small boutique hotel with a pool on top. the staff arranged for tickets on the tourist bus and we did red and blue routes to get acquainted then second day stopped at the park Guell
Le Pedera, etc. hop on and off. Although near La Ramblas where we had a rip -off $20 Sangria, we opted for local cafes and had 1 nice evening meal of tapas and an all enclusive $10 euros meal with soup, salad, main course and dessert. just ask hotel or young students from the nearbye university. I only wish we had stayed longer, as Barcelona is the best.:)

[sunshine nana]

Another vote for the Jazz Hotel. We took the bus with luggage from the airport to about a half block from the hotel. They let us check in at 7:30 am. Very clean, close to Las Rambles, but not right on it. Many restaurants near. Watch out for pick pockets on Las Rambles!

[treasure4two]

Someone told me this was a good one- h10 Montcado-anyone heard of it and been there? I really appreciate everyone letting me know about their experiences and suggestion. Anyone remember how much the taxi cost from the airport to the Las Ramblas area? Thanks!

[eskie]

I will also vouch for Hotel Jazz. It's rated #5 of 597 hotels with Tripadvisor (I think it was rated #3 when I booked it a couple of years ago). We booked the family room as there were 3 adults travelling. What a great room! Spacious with two sleeping areas that were separated with a t.v. wall unit that provided some privacy for each at nighttime. The bathroom was huge! The breakfast buffet was included with the rate and we thoroughly enjoyed everything (especially the baked goods). The street life was busy at night, but I didn't hear any commotion in the room, centrally located at the top of the ramblas so it was great to walk around in the morning. Wasn't expensive to take a taxi to the port when time board for my cruise.

[RedmondCruiser]

I'll put in my vote for the Le Meridian. Its a first class hotel with a fantastic location on the Ramblas. We stayed there for 3 nights pre cruise and would book again in a heart beat.

[Sharon in AZ]

We stayed at Avenida Palace in Barcelona and loved it, the price was reasonable and the room & bathroom were large. Breakfast included, although it was European, lots of yogurt, fruit, and muesli, no made to order eggs. Very close to La Rambla, which we loved! Make sure to stop and sit for a drink on La Rambla and people watch. Look for the live statues.....amazing. We loved the La Boqueria el Mercat, right on La Rambla, which is the huge market place for fresh food, fish, etc.

Barcelona is museum intensive. Due to our short stay we only had time to visit the Picasso museum, which we both enjoyed. There is a museum for everyone's taste, including museums for shoes, chocolate, sewer systems, and even erotica. We missed a lot and were there for 2 nights. I had major jet lag and by day 3, embarkation day, just couldn't do much.

Be careful crossing the street! Drivers stopped at a light start before the light turns green.

We did a lot of research beforehand and were glad we did. Barcelona is on our list of places we want to go back to.

[sillysailor 1955]

........We have stayed in two hotels in Barcelona; Le Meridian Barcelona and Hotel Regencia Colon.

I will second the Hotel Regencia Colon - very good location and good value for the $$. We stayed there post cruise last year and pre cruise we stayed at Eurostar Grand Marina (about a 10 minute walk from Las Ramblas )- it was beautiful - a 5 Star hotel - we got a great price on Orbitz. Enjoy Barcelona - its a great city:)

[RuthC]

There is a museum for everyone's taste, including museums for shoes, chocolate, sewer systems, and even erotica.
Oh? Wonder if I could get to two of them in one day.
(You figure out which two.;))

[HalFan]

Check out the AC Diplomatic Hotel. It's in the middle of everything, but quieter because it's one block off the Passeig de Gracia. Gaudi central!
Beautiful modern style.

[socal4me]

in 2005 after our Med Cruise we stayed at Hotel Neri, in a junior suite, I remember it being very pricey...but soooo nice. in Gothic Quarter near but not on Las Ramblas...loved Barcelona, make sure you see Park Guell and Sagrada Familia..the Gaudi architecture is truly a sight to see....

would like to return someday...have a great time...